Clinical Outcome Assessment (COA) score interpretation

Defining Score Interpretation Thresholds for Clinical Outcome Assessment Measures: A Review of Terminology and Reporting Recommendations

Funding: no external funding

Lead CIs: Emuella Flood (AstraZeneca, USA), A/Prof Sandra Nolte; project delivered in the end of 2025

Both the concept of ‘score interpretation threshold’ for understanding score differences of clinical outcome assessments (COAs) and the terminology around this topic have evolved over several decades. However, considerable confusion regarding terminology remains, leading to potentially erroneous interpretation of COA results. This project, instigated as part of a larger initiative through the Drug Information Association (DIA), sought to provide an updated overview of terminology and an assessment of trends to explore opportunities for harmonising the field.

The project has now been delivered and was published in the Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41296240/.